Artificial intelligence (AI) is on everyone’s mind, regardless of the industry. It’s easy to find articles boasting AI’s ability to craft polished, ready-to-publish copy at the push of a button. However, the truth is more nuanced — what some consider a polished draft would only be regarded as a rough draft by an expert copywriter.

While copywriting AI is a powerful tool for boosting productivity, it can’t replace the strategic and creative finesse that human copywriters bring to the table. The most effective copy comes from a balance of AI-driven efficiency and human expertise. In this blog, we’ll debunk some common myths we’ve seen floating around the Internet and explain how experts really use AI.

Reality Check: What Copywriting AI Can and Cannot Do

The capabilities of AI have evolved quickly, especially in automating some aspects of writing. However, while it’s true that AI can help you create better content faster, it cannot automate the entire process for you. Most importantly, it cannot do your thinking for you. Its primary value lies in brainstorming, generating rough drafts, and providing a foundation or inspiration that a human writer can build upon. If you want to use AI successfully, you should focus on areas where it can truly provide value:

Idea Generation

Every writer has days when the words don’t come easily. AI can combat writer’s block by suggesting blog topics, headlines, or alternative versions of existing copy to spot areas you can improve. For example, it can help brainstorm twenty potential blog titles for a new topic. You likely won’t want to use any of them verbatim, but you’re guaranteed to find a word or phrase that inspires you to create your own or a way to combine your chatbot’s ideas into something fresh and enticing to your audience. 

Fast Long-Form Drafts

Another way to combat writer’s block or just boost your efficiency is to use AI to generate drafts of long-form content. However, an experienced copywriter doesn’t stop there. The draft will need the application of an expert human eye, and not just for a cursory glance-over but to add essential elements like emotion, personality, voice, differentiators, readability, and deep understanding of the audience’s needs and desires. Plus, don’t forget the fact checking. AI loves to hallucinate.

Simple Short-Form Drafts

AI can handle basic, repetitive tasks like product descriptions or simple social media posts, allowing human copywriters to focus on higher-level, strategic content. But you still need to edit and polish. For example, when it comes to social posts, AI goes way overboard with emojis! 😁

In contrast, there are many critical elements of copywriting that AI isn’t advanced enough to replicate.

Brand Voice and Tone

AI-generated content often lacks the distinct brand voice or point of view that makes copy engaging. Because it is trained from existing content, it tends to sound generic or robotic, reusing the same words and phrases, which risks alienating your audience. It may even generate plagiarized copy. A few words that immediately identify a piece of content as AI-generated: 

• Unleash
• Unlock
• Revolutionize
• Transform
• Delve/dive
• Any reference to “today’s world” or “landscape.” 

Emotional Resonance

AI may understand language patterns, but it can’t understand human emotions. Copywriting often hinges on creating an emotional connection with your audience—a task that requires human empathy and insight. A chatbot doesn’t spend hours listening to your client or your brand leaders articulate their vision and values the way a copywriter does, plus its ability to comprehend empathy is limited to linguistic parameters — and it shows.

Strategic Thinking

Compelling copy isn’t just about putting words on a page. It’s about crafting a message that aligns with your brand’s values, speaks to your audience’s needs, and furthers your business goals. This level of strategic thought is beyond AI’s current capabilities. Instead of using AI to help you create a strategic marketing plan, create your own and try asking whether it can spot any inconsistencies or missed opportunities.

Factual Accuracy

AI is known to make up information (known as hallucination) and even cite articles or events that don’t exist, so a human writer must fact-check everything. ChatGPT, for example, can only access information from before September 2021, so it can’t alert you to new developments or trends.

The Danger of Over-Reliance on Copywriting AI

AI is an excellent tool for improving efficiency and productivity, but over-reliance on it can backfire. When we rely too heavily on technology, we may be unable to produce the same level of work if that tool becomes unavailable. Our expectations for high quality may also fall by the wayside if we focus too heavily on the benefits of efficiency. That’s when we risk losing control of our content’s quality, tone, and effectiveness.

From an SEO standpoint, AI-generated content poses risks as well. Websites that rely on generic or repetitive content may see their rankings suffer. AI’s tendency to generate content that lacks depth or originality, combined with some marketers’ willingness to use that content as a final product, could cause businesses damage to their brand’s reputation. That’s why experts always use AI as a copywriting assistant, not as a copywriter itself.

Is AI Replacing Copywriters?

By now, you’ve probably guessed that our answer to this question is Definitely Not! AI can assist with tasks that require speed and repetition, but it can’t replace the creativity, emotional intelligence, and strategic insight that human copywriters provide:

• Originality: AI repurposes existing data and patterns, but human copywriters create original content tailored to your brand’s identity and audience.
• Emotional Connection: Copywriting is about forming a connection with the reader. Only human writers can craft stories that resonate on a deep, emotional level.
• Strategic Thinking: AI might help with execution, but it can’t replace the strategic decisions involved in creating content that aligns with your business goals.

Ultimately, AI and human copywriters work best in tandem. AI can speed up the process and make brainstorming easier, but the final product still requires human creativity and insight to make it truly impactful.

Looking for Copywriting Experts Who Know How to Use AI the Right Way?

AI is a powerful tool that can enhance the copywriting process, but it’s not a replacement for human creativity. Businesses that combine AI’s efficiency with human expertise will have the competitive edge, producing content that is both efficient and deeply engaging. As you consider your next copywriting project, remember that AI can provide the draft, but it’s the human touch that turns it into something remarkable.

Stay future-proofed by learning about emerging technologies and evolving ethical practices in AI, and position your brand to thrive in the digital marketing landscape by embracing the AI revolution and using it the right way to your advantage. 

Want to chat with our team about where to lean into AI and where to get our help? Just reach out!